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"
But they will prevent us, sir."
We shall see."
"
The truth was that they did not prevent us.
The driver continued on his way, but hesitatingly, and at a walking
pace. The appearance of a fiacre in the square had caused some
surprise, and the inhabitants began to come out of their houses. Several
came up to my carriage.
We passed by a group of men with huge epaulets. These men, whose tactics
we understood later on, did not even appear to see us.
The emotion which I had felt on the previous day before a regiment of
cuirassiers again seized me. To see before me the assassins of the
country, at a few steps, standing upright, in the insolence of a
peaceful triumph, was beyond my strength: I could not contain myself. I
drew out my sash. I held it in my hand, and putting my arm and head out
of the window of the fiacre, and shaking the sash, I shouted,--
"Soldiers! Look at this sash. It is the symbol of Law, it is the
National Assembly visible. Where there this sash is there is Right.
Well, then, this is what Right commands you. You are being deceived. Go
back to your duty. It is a Representative of the People who is speaking
to you, and he who represents the People represents the army. Soldiers,
before becoming soldiers you have been peasants, you have been workmen,
you have been and you are still citizens. Citizens, listen to me when I
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